Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Vol. 142 Issue 12 - November 29, 2018
Blackstocks to retire from teaching after fall semester By | Danielle Lee Collegian Reporter After decades of service at Hillsdale College, Professor of Law Robert Blackstock and Lecturer in Economics Jacquelyn Blackstock will be retiring from Hillsdale College at the end of 2018. The Blackstocks said they are retiring largely because they want to maintain good health for the activities they plan on pursuing during retirement. These activities will include road tripping to visit children and grandchildren next March, as well as flying to Europe to ski. “It’s probably going to be the perfect retirement for us — children and skiing,” Robert Blackstock said. “That’s kind of how we lived our lives too.” Robert Blackstock has been teaching at the college since 1977, while Jacquelyn has
from faculty curricula and financial aid, to Hillsdale Academy. Blackstock said he appreciates the people who helped him complete these tasks. He attributed his success to “a good sense of teamwork and good skills to make it work pretty efficiently— and a good companion at home to sort through things with.” Before teaching at the college, Robert initially planned to continue practicing law and become a judge in his hometown, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, after graduating from law school at Ohio Northern University. But late his senior year, he decided to pursue a teaching career instead. “I needed a Plan B and I always liked the idea of college teaching, so I thought I’d give it a try for a year,” he said. His close friend from law school, Paul Cassidy, knew Hillsdale College and suggest-
manufacturing engineer at a company in Coldwater. The company designed and manufactured clothing racks for department stores. “It was challenging and I liked it very much,” she said. Once they started having children, Jacquelyn Blackstock took a few years off to stay at home and take care of them. In 1989, she accepted an offer from Robert Saemann, chairman of the college’s business department, to be an adjunct statistics professor. “I started teaching in January of 1990 and have loved it,” Jacquelyn said. “Teaching here has been a rich and rewarding part of my life.” Having taught Quantitative Analysis and Business & Economic Statistics for 29 years, Jacquelyn Blackstock said she gets joy and satisfaction from helping a student understand the material. “A special part of the quan-
After decades of teaching at Hillsdale College, Robert and Jacquelyn Blackstock will retire at the end of this semester. Danielle Lee | Collegian
been with the college since 1990. Over the course of his 42 years here, Robert has been a professor, was involved with Institutional Advancement, coordinator and founder of Hillsdale Hostel’s weekly programs, vice president of admissions, and acting president of the college for six months. Robert Blackstock also served as the college provost for 15 years, overseeing everything
ed Robert visit it, since he was pursuing a teaching career. “From the moment I set foot on campus, I loved the place,” Robert said. “I loved what it stood for and the people, and that has not changed since.” Jacquelyn Blackstock came to Hillsdale because Robert was teaching at the college when they were married. For the first fews years of their marriage, she worked as a
titative classes is a wave of understanding that can come over a student, usually after a lot of hard work on their part,” Jacquelyn said. “As a teacher, you can almost watch it happen. That’s the joy in teaching.” Madison Vandegrift, a sophomore, is in Jacquelyn Blackstock’s Business & Economic Statistics class and
See Blackstocks A3
Anton speaks on recent elections, political hostility By | Jordyn Pair Associate Editor While working as the director of communications for the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration, Michael Anton had a rule: He wouldn’t leave the office until he had returned every call he had received that day. He quickly abandoned that rule when he joined the Trump administration in February 2017 as the Deputy Assistant to the President for Strategic Communications for the National Security Council. He was getting between 200 and 300 calls a day. “There was less media during the Bush administration, the internet was not really a thing,” Anton said. “It was just a much slower, calmer, less complex environment.” Anton, who delivered a campus lecture on the current political landscape Tuesday evening, joined the staff at the Allan P. Kirby Center for ConFollow @HDaleCollegian
stitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C. earlier this year as a lecturer in politics and research fellow. He is currently teaching a course on national security for students on the Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program, a course he calls a mix of theory and practice. He spends the rest of his time writing or lecturing. “The first class has been great,” said Matthew Spalding, Associate Vice President & Dean of Educational Programs at the Kirby Center. “The students really like him.” Anton said that although there are no definite plans for him to teach another class next year, he enjoys teaching. “Hillsdale students know stuff already,” Anton said. “They’re coming to the table already with a body of knowledge.” Spalding said Anton is a good fit for the Kirby Center in part because he has both intellectual background and practical experience.
Anton is known for his “The Flight 93 Election” article, published in September 2016 under the pseudonym “Publius Decius Mus,” which urged Republicans to treat the 2016 presidential election with the same sacrificial fervor of the passengers of 9/11’s Flight 93. He graduated from University of California at Davis and has master’s degrees from both St. John’s College and Claremont Graduate University. It was while working on his doctorate at Claremont University that Anton met Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn, who was president of Claremont University at the time. “I got to know his family well,” Anton said, adding that he even used to babysit for Arnn and his wife. Arnn encouraged Anton to leave his doctorate program early to work as a speechwriter in the California’s governor’s office. From
See Anton A3
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Construction on Christ Chapel has been delayed due to weather and detail work on the stone masonry. Sofia Krusmark | Collegian
Chapel construction delayed by winter weather, masonry By | Sofia Krusmark Collegian Reporter Hillsdale College’s Christ Chapel will not be finished in time for commencement in May of 2019, President Larry Arnn recently announced. The chapel is expected to be finished two months later. “It’s not a very serious delay,” Arnn said. “There’s a lot of masonry work, and the masons who can do this quality of work are limited. Buildings never seem to be early, and with ones like this, if they’re 10 percent late, that’s pretty good. It won’t be done before the seniors go away. That’s the only thing I don’t like about it.” But Arnn said he still hopes to bring seniors and families into the unfinished chapel, during commencement week. “I said to Mark, who is the boss on the site, ‘So what if I want to find a way to bring several hundred people in here for something?’ And he said, ‘We’ll find a way,’” Arnn said. Don Lambert, superintendent of masonry on the chapel project, said the early winter
took a toll on the chapel’s progress since the mortar between the brick and limestone is water-based. However, he said the delay rests in the “quality and complexity” demanded by the job. “The college is spending a lot more money on quality than quantity. Anyone can lay a lot of block real fast and bomb up a wall, but if it’s wrong, it throws off the whole building,” Lambert said. “Everything mounts off the masonry. If you try to rush something, everything can go south real quick.” Mark Shollenberger, superintendent of construction, said a shortage of laborers also prevented the chapel from finishing on time. He said the company lacks around 60 bricklayers, a trade that he said seems to have a shortage of necessary labor. With the masonry 99 percent finished on the interior, Lambert said the outdoor stonework is more than 70 percent complete. “We have left to put the dome, and the arcades,” Lambert said. For bricklaying, he said they are “at 54 feet on
the south gable wall facing the clock tower, and we only have 12 feet to go on the towers themselves.” Shollenberger said the ceiling is the most pressing unfinished project. “You have to schedule everything around the ceiling. You have to get everything done up high and get down to a level where you don’t have those lifts in the building anymore,” Shollenberger said. “Once we finish getting the plaster and drywall done on the ceiling, we can start priming and painting the stairwells so we can begin the flooring.” Carl Clark, a mason tender on site, said the tedious construction job demands patience. “Don doesn’t get all panicked, so we don’t have to get panicked. We shouldn’t get so bound up in a situation that we can’t control,” Clark said. “When things aren’t right on track, I’ve learned to be meek and keep giving all the glory to God.” Aside from “going back to church” and starting to read
See Chapel A3
‘One of nature’s gentlemen’
Students, faculty remember Donald Turner
was a regular fixture at these became so popular that York By | Emma Cummins Friday night soirees, which eventually had to find a way Collegian Reporter consisted of conversation, to signal to people when his A lover of the arts, occakaraoke, and beer, and lasted house was open, since a few sional actor and part-time for almost a decade. enthusiasts would show up singer, life of the party, and “Don lived for it,” York at 5 p.m., as he was mentor were just just getting home a few of the ways from work. York friends of Donald did this by turning Turner remember on a neon beer him. A man who sign. However, for took an interest in Turner, the sign almost everything never came on too and everyone, soon. Turner died from “I remember becomplications of ing in my kitchen, cancer on Nov. looking out and 21, at the age of feeling guilty and 65, after spending thinking, ‘Oh geez,’ 18 years teaching because I would philosophy at see Don starting to Hillsdale College. circle around and Turner won around the block professor of the waiting for that year in 2012, and sign to turn on,” during his time York said. “After at the college, I saw him drive touched many around two or with his sincerity, three times I would concern, and love go and turn the for life. light on, and say, One of Turner’s ‘Come on in, Don.’” defining qualities York fondly was his social naremembered the ture, according to nights that the colleagues and forgroup was graced mer students. This by Turner’s voice, nature was given a with the help of special spotlight on Former philosophy professor Donald Turner, who a karaoke machine died on Nov. 21, is remembered by students and Friday evenings. one of the professors Professor of Biol- colleagues as a caring individual. brought. ogy Dan York hosted External Affairs | Courtesy “He had a great get-togethers every voice,” York said. Friday evening for faculty, said. “Don was always the “When Don got a hold of the staff, and occasionally stumain person everyone wanted karaoke mic nobody could get dents, which faculty members to talk to.” it away from him. He would and students affectionately The evening get-togethers See Turner A2 termed, “York’s Porch.” Turner
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Look for The Hillsdale Collegian